Kelly Ripa worked hard to keep things normal for her kids
Being the daughter of television icons Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Lola Consuelos grew up very familiar with the paparazzi. But just because cameras were a common sight doesn’t mean she always knew what to make of the avid followers growing up. Contributing to this was the creative way mom Ripa wrote off the paparazzi to keep her daughter comfortable.
Ripa and Consuelos, both 53, began their family story on TV, meeting on the set of All My Children where they played love interests. On May 1, 1996, they cemented their romance story by eloping and went on to have three children together: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin. Although mom and dad were the entertainment stars, the kids received a lot of media attention as well, and on the podcast Sirius XM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera, Lola and Ripa discussed just how the family handled the fanfare, especially for the kids.
Lola grew up in New York City, amidst a throng of media attention that would follow Ripa – and by extension, her family – for the latest scoop or snap. Lola had a clear view of all of this but, looking back, she feels her mother handled it perfectly. The secret was to focus on normalcy.
“I was very aware of it,” shared Lola about exposure to the paparazzi, “and I always tell this to people because I say I think you and dad did the best job of raising us with that type of stuff because we knew what was going on, but you always told us that it was something else.”
She went on to explain, “Like when you would pick us up, when we’d walk home from school, I’d be like, ‘There’s people taking photos of us,’ and you’re like, ‘They’re taking photos of the birds and I’m like…”
At this point in the podcast discussion, Ripa cut in, “I used the old bird watchers, ‘They’re bird watchers.’”
Lola revealed that she didn’t buy into that for a moment, reciting, “Mom, they’re really not, they’re not taking photos of the birds. I promise you. They’re taking photos of us.” She recalled Ripa insisting, “They’re just taking photos of the birds, like it’s not a big deal,” and went on to say, “I think if you had made it a big deal and would’ve reacted to it, obviously we would’ve reacted to it as well, but because you literally did not care and still don’t, we do not care and we didn’t care and we still don’t care, which is why if someone comes up to you, if we’re having dinner and a fan comes up to you and asks for a picture, it doesn’t even register.”
So, “It’s just time passes and we continue, like let’s just say I’m talking to you and a fan comes up and asks for a picture. I’ll wait for five seconds and continue my story.”
As far as parenting in the broad sense goes, regardless of fame, Ripa maintained her philosophy of prioritizing normalcy across all dividing lines. For example, while she anticipated having a clearer idea of how she wanted to raise a daughter, she also understood – and vehemently insisted – that “My sons are just as sensitive as my daughter, and my daughter is as strong as my sons.”
But she also feels imparting wisdom has been a two-way street for parents and children alike, with Lola especially helping Ripa with “being a modern-day woman.” Based on Lola’s assessments, Ripa already knew how to do a thing or two right from the start!
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